Book Review: A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones

 

From the publisher:

Running a small-town police force in the mountains of New Mexico should be a smooth, carefree kind of job. Sadly, full-time Sheriff--and even fuller-time coffee guzzler--Sunshine Vicram, didn't get that memo.

All Sunshine really wants is one easy-going day. You know, the kind that starts with coffee and a donut (or three) and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Turns out, that's about as easy as switching to decaf. (What kind of people do that? And who hurt them?)

Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunny's got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. All evidence points to a local distiller, a dangerous bad boy named Levi Ravinder, but Sun knows he's not the villain of her story. Still, perhaps beneath it all, he possesses the keys to her disappearance. At the very least, beneath it all, he possesses a serious set of abs. She's seen it. Once. Accidentally.

Between policing a town her hunky chief deputy calls four cents short of a nickel, that pesky crush she has on Levi which seems to grow exponentially every day, and an irascible raccoon that just doesn't know when to quit, Sunny's life is about to rocket to a whole new level of crazy.

My thoughts:

There's a lot going on in this book. But you can still follow the storylines fairly easily. The biggest storylines are the mystery that Sunny is pursuing and her daughter's investigation into a possible serial killer. I think the raccoon is there mainly for comic relief. Lots of subplots including a romance for Sunny and some romance for her daughter as well.

This book is definitely better if you've read A Bad Day for Sunshine first. Otherwise you won't know why Sunny gets so upset by a basket of muffins. Or who the Dangerous daughters are supposed to be until much later in the story. Generally most things get explained well enough. But reading book one gives you more depth into what's going on and to the characters.

The ending is a little bit of a cliffhanger. I don't mind terribly, I am planning to read the next book anyway. The feeling I get is like waiting for the other shoe to drop.  

I gave this book 4 stars. Don't miss it if you've read book one. It's well-written. The mysteries are interesting. The book will grab your attention. And it's generally fast paced. I really enjoyed the book. If you are a fan of Darynda Jones, you will probably enjoy this series. It has mystery, romance, and humor.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.